SERE Training

Sam heard footsteps approaching and she tried to press herself even closer to the ground.

"If at all possible, don't just blend in, become part of the terrain."

She could remember that advice from a training instructor during her first SERE training course (Survival, Evasion, Resistance and Escape) back at the Academy. Easier said than done. She'd barely had time to jump down this incline and hug the dirt when she'd sensed movement behind her.

"Don't look this way. Don't look this way."

She chanted to herself, trying to will the drone to do her bidding. Not daring to look up for fear that any movement might give her away, she held her breath as she heard him pass by just above her. Finally, the footsteps moved on, and she carefully and quietly let out her breath. Lowering her head, she sighed with relief.

"I'll have to tell Teal'c that I mastered the Jedi mind trick."

She'd wait a few minutes before moving, letting the drone put some distance between them first. Her leg was beginning to throb, her head didn't feel much better, and she was getting thirstier by the minute. But best not to dwell on all that.

"Got to think about something else."

"I wonder how he's tracking me. Not doing a really good job, although I'm not complaining. Can't be an infrared detector, or he would have picked me up just now. When we examined the one that we took captive, I don't recall seeing any enhanced sensory organs, so it probably isn't using smell or hearing. It looked like they were just designed for fighting, not for stealth or speed, and certainly not for long life Strictly cannon fodder. Geez, I hope that Anubis hasn't figured out how to tweak the designs so that he can create different models – a combat model, a seek out and destroy tracker like this one seems to be, a bow down and suck up to your lord and master version."

"Ok, now I'm getting goofy. Time to move."

Sam cautiously poked her head up and surveyed the surrounding area. No sign of the drone. He wasn't making any real effort to hide his movement or tracks, but she didn't want to take any chances. It was pretty clear that this particular drone, whatever model it was, was programmed to seek out one Sam Carter. It wasn't hard to figure out why, either.

It couldn't be a coincidence that one drone found her and her father working on the weapon, and now a second drone was hunting her. She had no doubt that this was a different drone than the one which had shown up at the lab. The damn things were like cockroaches, they kept coming back, but that one had gone down when her dad shot it, and would have been destroyed in the self destruct explosion. So, two different drones with the same mission meant only one thing; they wanted to destroy the weapon and anyone with the knowledge of how to make it work.

She needed to evade him for as long as possible, until someone, somehow managed to get to the planet to recover her and any other survivors. Normally, she'd be trying to seek out anyone else who had been outside the blast radius, and make plans for survival until rescue. Her personal stalker wrecked that plan. She didn't want to risk anyone else's lives, so she needed to lead him away from where she most wanted to be, in close proximity to the gate site.

She eased her way down the slope on which she'd been lying and slowly made her way opposite the direction the drone had taken.

After putting some distance between herself and the drone, she stopped again to take stock. Everything had happened so quickly back at the alpha site that she hadn't had time to gather up anything that might help her in this situation.

She and her dad barely had enough time to wipe the computers after Lieutenant Glenn informed them of the bug-out order. Then after the drone showed up and launched his attack on them, there had been no time at all. They used the weapon on the drone, immediately exited the lab, and headed toward the gate, only to see it must have been bombed by an attack ship. The gate was barely upright, tilting at a 45 degree angle with the ground. Over the loudspeaker they could hear Colonel Reilly ordering all personnel to head for the tree line, and announced the countdown was commencing. She and Jacob were running to join the others when they spotted another drone coming after them. They decided to split up and keep the weapon and the power source separate as well, so that the drone couldn't get both. They'd just separated when the blast hit, and they must have been thrown in entirely different directions.

"No, I can't worry about Dad. He's probably hanging with the rest of the survivors and just as concerned about me as I am about him. So, what do I have that might be of use?"

She dug through all her pockets, finding little of anything that could help.

Power unit – not much good without the weapon, bandanna - one of Daniel's?

"Good, I can use this on my leg. Looks like it's bleeding more than I thought it would, and I better try to make a tourniquet. It should at least slow down the bleeding. I'll have to remember to thank Daniel for it."

She tied it as tight as she dared, and went on with her inventory.

Change for the vending machines, – "Why in the hell did they put those at the alpha site? Does Coke have a franchise agreement with the Air Force stipulating that their machines have to be placed at every base in existence? You'd think there would be a clause limiting them to earth, but I guess then someone would have to admit the need for the clause and …Damn it! Getting off track again. Focus, Sam!"

Keys, flash drive, Leatherman all purpose knife.

"The only really useful thing is the knife, not much of a weapon, but it does have a blade and some tools if I find anything to use them on."

Thinking of tools reminded Sam again of SERE. She thought back to the first time she had gone through SERE training. It was during the summer between her first and second year at the Academy. All cadets were required to take the course, and while she didn't dare tell anyone at the time, she actually enjoyed the course. It had taxed her physically and mentally, yet she liked the feeling that she had at the end of the day. She was exhausted, but proud of herself for having met the challenge. She was accustomed to success in the classroom, and of course at the Academy everyone had to be involved in some kind of physical activity, but this went way beyond that. Knowing that she was able to handle the toughest conditions that the training officers could dream up gave her great deal of satisfaction. At that time women were not allowed in combat, so it seemed to be just an exercise with no real possibility for practical application. After all, why would a non-combatant have to worry about being captured or stranded?

"Well, I guess some of us 'non-combatants' did end up in jeopardy, didn't we?" she mused.

What had those SERE instructors said about tools?

"The most important tool you have is between your ears. If you don't have anything else to help you survive, try to think your way out. If you're being pursued, look around, see what's available in your surroundings to help you hide or attack, whichever is most feasible. Do not plan on running forever. Your enemy can wear you down in a chase, even if you're in peak physical condition. He'll probably have the advantage in numbers, supplies and weapons. So your best chance at surviving until rescue is to hide. If a realistic opportunity presents itself, attacking your pursuer is an option, but only if you're sure that you have an excellent chance to completely take down the enemy."

"Ok, check the surroundings. Nope, nothing here to help attack the goon, and no good hiding spot. I guess that means I need to keep moving."